France Nov. 5 – 1918

 

Dear Anna

 

            I received Mabel’s letter of Sept 16^th and your letter of Oct 1^st yesterday.  Today I received a package of Tribunes and the Sat Eve Post and Navy Life.  I am very glad to hear you are all well.

 

            I am still in the hospital and it is hard to tell how long I will stay here.  I would be all right if I could only open my mouth.  I eat mostly soup and bread.  It would [not] do any good to put a nice big steak in front of me because I could not chew it.

 

            Well according to the latest news Germany is fighting all alone.  I do not think they will last very long now.

 

            Winge is still here and I think it will be some time before he gets out of here as he will have another operation before his eye will be alright.

 

            It is very quiet here about all we do is play cards and read.

 

            There has been no moving picture the last two or three nights on account of the weather.  Have you heard from Ed since he left?

 

            It is hard to write a letter because it is the same old story every day here and as far as the latest war news you get that as quick as we do.

 

            I had a letter from Stewart and he tells me that Peterson the fat conductor who lived a couple of doors from us on Keeler Ave is back on the cars again as a motorman.  You remember he was fired and had a hard time getting [a] job.  They are so short of men they are taking back a lot of men who were fired.

 

            Did you have your office hours changed?

 

            Stewart also said that he had heard that Bob McKinney the conductor had lost a leg over here.  He was with the Canadians as a motorcycle messenger.

 

 

 

(Note:  The following text is obviously from a different letter written about the same time.  In the bundle this page was with the pages of the above letter.  There is no explanation for this}

 

news of Austria’s surrender came.

 

I should think Eva could buy two bonds after the big raise in wages they gave her.

 

I suppose the reason the cars are so crowded in Chicago is because they are so short of men they have to leave a lot of the cars in the barn.

 

My mouth is still the same and I think they will have to operate again before it will be alright.  All the fellows are wondering who will be the first to go home if the war ends.

 

I wish I had more to write about but news is scarce here and about all I can tell is that I am alive and kicking.

 

                                                Love to all

                                                            Theo

 

 

Pvt. T.F. Thourson                                                                                                OK

Co A 132^nd Inf                                                                                                            TRP

American EF

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